Week 21: Experts in authoritarianism advise to keep a list of things subtly changing around you, so you’ll remember.

Over the past three weeks, Trump’s approval plummeted as he struggled to take back the narrative amidst legislative failures and a ubiquitous Russia. He floated several attempts to deflect, and replace Russia as the lead story: the Obama wiretap, the Nunes brouhaha, the Susan Rice unmasking — but none seemed to work. This week he figured out a way to take back the narrative — one commonly used by autocrats — he started a war.

Five weeks have passed since Trump’s tweet accusing Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower. He has yet to offer any evidence or apologize.

Trump invited Egyptian President el-Sisi to the WH, and did not mention human rights abuses. Families of Americans being held prisoner in Egypt also said Trump had ignored their pleas for help, after Trump on the campaign trail excoriated Obama for not prioritizing prisoners in Iran.

In August, CIA director Brennan met with the Gang of Eight to share his findings. Sen. Harry Reid has pushed repeatedly to inform the American public, but Sen. Mitch McConnell questioned the findings and pushed for a softer version of a public letter, striking any reference to Russia.

As noted in Week 4, McConnell had also been the roadblock to Obama going public in October with more explicit information on Russia’s attempted interference with our election.

Also as noted in Week 4, shortly after the election, Trump chose McConnell’s wife as his nominee for transportation secretary.

On Friday, McConnell passed the filibuster-ending “nuclear option” for Supreme Court picks. One columnist referred to him as “the man who broke America.”

Trump had also pushed McConnell towards the nuclear option. One expert in authoritarianism said of autocrats, “They will continue to rewrite major rules and disregard norms.”

Trump cited Assad’s use of chemical weapons against Syrian civilians, including children, as justification. Ironically, one of Trump’s first actions in office was his Muslim ban, which banned Syrian refugees. Also per PolitiFact, on the campaign trail, Trump promised to remove existing Syrian refugees from the US.

Also of note, the Trump regime has been responsible for killing hundreds of innocent civilians, including children, in the failed Yemen raid, and then in Mosul where pamphlets told citizens not to leave their homes.

To complete the stagecraft, the Trump regime released their version of the Situation Room photo. This version was taken in Mar-a-Lago, and included Spicer, two Goldman Sachs executives, Commerce Secretary Ross, and Kushner glaring over at Bannon.

In this photo released by the White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer on Twitter, President Trump receives a briefing on the Syria military strike in a secured conference room at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Photo: White House Photo)